Dynamic Focus 3D Display

ABSTRACT

A direct retinal projector system that provides dynamic focusing for virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) is described. A direct retinal projector system scans images, pixel by pixel, directly onto the subject&#39;s retinas. This allows individual pixels to be optically affected dynamically as the images are scanned to the subject&#39;s retinas. Dynamic focusing components and techniques are described that may be used in a direct retinal projector system to dynamically and correctly focus each pixel in VR images as the images are being scanned to a subject&#39;s eyes. This allows objects, surfaces, etc. that are intended to appear at different distances in a scene to be projected to the subject&#39;s eyes at the correct depths.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16,598,638, filed Oct. 10, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/405,226, filed Jan. 12, 2017, which claimsbenefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,419,filed Jan. 13, 2016, the content of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Virtual reality (VR) allows users to experience and/or interact with animmersive artificial environment, such that the user feels as if theywere physically in that environment. For example, virtual realitysystems may display stereoscopic scenes to users in order to create anillusion of depth, and a computer may adjust the scene content inreal-time to provide the illusion of the user moving within the scene.When the user views images through a virtual reality system, the usermay thus feel as if they are moving within the scenes from afirst-person point of view. Similarly, augmented reality (AR) combinescomputer generated information with real world images to augment, or addcontent to, a user's view of the world. The simulated environments ofvirtual reality and/or the enhanced content of augmented reality maythus be utilized to provide an interactive user experience for multipleapplications, such as interacting with virtual training environments,gaming, remotely controlling drones or other mechanical systems, viewingdigital media content, interacting with the internet, or the like.

However, conventional virtual reality and augmented reality systems maysuffer from accommodation-convergence mismatch problems that causeeyestrain, headaches, and/or nausea. Accommodation-convergence mismatcharises when a VR or AR system effectively confuses the brain of a userby generating scene content that does not match the depth expected bythe brain based on the stereo convergence of the two eyes of the user.For example, in a stereoscopic system the images displayed to the usermay trick the eye(s) into focusing at a far distance while an image isphysically being displayed at a closer distance. In other words, theeyes may be attempting to focus on a different image plane or focaldepth compared to the focal depth of the projected image, therebyleading to eyestrain and/or increasing mental stress.Accommodation-convergence mismatch problems are undesirable and maydistract users or otherwise detract from their enjoyment and endurancelevels (i.e. tolerance) of virtual reality or augmented realityenvironments.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing dynamicfocusing in virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) systemsare described. Conventional VR systems project left and right imagesonto screens that are viewed by a subject. A direct retinal projectorsystem, however, scans the images, pixel by pixel, directly onto thesubject's retinas. This aspect of direct retinal projector systemsallows individual pixels to be optically affected dynamically as theimages are scanned to the subject's retinas. Embodiments of dynamicfocusing components and techniques are described that may be used in adirect retinal projector system to dynamically and correctly focus eachpixel in VR images as the images are being scanned to a subject's eyes.This allows content (objects, surfaces, etc.) that is intended to appearat different depths in a scene to be projected to the subject's eyes atthe correct depths. Thus, the dynamic focusing components and techniquesfor direct retinal projector systems may help to reduce or eliminate theconvergence-accommodation conflict in VR systems. A VR or AR headsetsystem is described that may include or implement the dynamic focusingcomponents and techniques in a direct retinal projector system.

In some embodiments, a light emitting device of a direct retinalprojector system may include a one- or two-dimensional array of lightemitting elements. Note that there may be two projector units eachincluding a light emitting device in the direct retinal projectorsystem, with one projector unit for each of the subject's eyes. In someembodiments, there may be a collimating lens corresponding to the lightemitting device in each projector unit. The light emitting elements ineach light emitting device may, for example, include edge emittinglasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), or other typesof light emitting elements, for example light emitting diodes (LEDs). Insome embodiments, the light emitting elements in each light emittingdevice may be grouped into subsets (referred to as focus groups) 1-N,for example with each group including at least one red light emittingelement, at least one blue light emitting element, and at least onegreen light emitting element, with the light emitting elements in eachfocus group configured to focus their emitted light beams at respectivefocus distances f₁-f_(N) relative to the respective collimating lens.Different optical or mechanical techniques may be used to focus thelight beams. For example, in some embodiments, an array of focusingmicrolenses may be arranged in front of the light emitting device, witha microlens corresponding to each light emitting element, and with themicrolenses corresponding to each of focus groups 1-N configured tofocus at the respective focus distance f₁-f_(N) of the group.

In a direct retinal projector system, there are two images representinga frame in a scene to be projected to the subject's eyes. To create athree-dimensional (3D) effect, objects or surfaces at different depthsor distances in the two images are shifted as a function of thetriangulation of distance, with nearer objects shifted more than moredistant objects. In some embodiments, this shift data may be used todetermine relative depth of content (e.g., objects, surfaces, etc.) inthe images, and thus to generate depth maps for the respective images.

In some embodiments, for each pixel of each image to be projected whenscanning the images to the subject's eyes, a controller component of thedirect retinal projector system may determine or obtain a respectivedepth for the pixel in the scene, for example from a depth map for therespective image. The controller may then use this depth information toselectively fire a focus group of light emitting elements that provide afocus distance f corresponding to the determined depth for the pixel.The light emitting elements in the group then emit light beams (e.g.,pulsed light beams) of respective wavelengths (e.g., red, green, andblue). Focusing components of the direct retinal projector system (e.g.,microlenses) focus the light beams at the focus distance f of the group.In some embodiments, a collimating lens on the light path of the focusedbeams refracts the beams, for example to a scanning mirror that scansthe collimated beams to a curved mirror that reflects the scanned beamsto the subject's eyes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of different types of eye focus.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional near-eye virtual reality system.

FIG. 3A illustrates depth information for virtual reality (VR) images.

FIG. 3B illustrates focusing pixels at different depths in a directretinal projector, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates focusing pixels at different depths in a directretinal projector by rotating a light emitting device, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate focusing pixels at different depths in adirect retinal projector using a microlens array with the light emittingdevice, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 further illustrates focusing pixels at different depths in adirect retinal projector using a microlens array with the light emittingdevice, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a high-level flowchart of a method for focusing pixels atdifferent depths in a direct retinal projector, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 8 is logical block diagram of a virtual reality (VR) and/oraugmented reality (AR) device, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a logical block diagram of a raster scan generated using anarray of MEMS mirrors, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10A illustrates a curved, substantially ellipsoid mirror, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 10B illustrates light from a curved ellipsoid mirror of a directretinal projector striking the pupil at different positions, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 10C illustrates elevation and azimuth scans to a curved ellipsoidmirror, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a logical block diagram of multiple fields of view, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a logical block diagram of a configuration of a lightemitting device, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a logical block diagram of a light emitting device withmicrolenses, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a logical block diagram of a frame for a VR/AR device,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a logical block diagram of a device that provides augmentedreality (AR) to a subject, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate a dynamically adjustable MEMS mirror thatmay be used in a VR/AR device, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a high-level flowchart illustrating a method of operation fora virtual reality device, according to some embodiments.

This specification includes references to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment.” The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “inan embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.Particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner consistent with this disclosure.

“Comprising.” This term is open-ended. As used in the claims, this termdoes not foreclose additional structure or steps. Consider a claim thatrecites: “An apparatus comprising one or more processor units . . . .”Such a claim does not foreclose the apparatus from including additionalcomponents (e.g., a network interface unit, graphics circuitry, etc.).

“Configured To.” Various units, circuits, or other components may bedescribed or claimed as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In suchcontexts, “configured to” is used to connote structure by indicatingthat the units/circuits/components include structure (e.g., circuitry)that performs those task or tasks during operation. As such, theunit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform the taskeven when the specified unit/circuit/component is not currentlyoperational (e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used withthe “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits,memory storing program instructions executable to implement theoperation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/component is “configuredto” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35U.S.C. § 112, paragraph (f), for that unit/circuit/component.Additionally, “configured to” can include generic structure (e.g.,generic circuitry) that is manipulated by software or firmware (e.g., anFPGA or a general-purpose processor executing software) to operate inmanner that is capable of performing the task(s) at issue. “Configureto” may also include adapting a manufacturing process (e.g., asemiconductor fabrication facility) to fabricate devices (e.g.,integrated circuits) that are adapted to implement or perform one ormore tasks.

“First,” “Second,” etc. As used herein, these terms are used as labelsfor nouns that they precede, and do not imply any type of ordering(e.g., spatial, temporal, logical, etc.). For example, a buffer circuitmay be described herein as performing write operations for “first” and“second” values. The terms “first” and “second” do not necessarily implythat the first value must be written before the second value.

“Based On” or “Dependent On.” As used herein, these terms are used todescribe one or more factors that affect a determination. These terms donot foreclose additional factors that may affect a determination. Thatis, a determination may be solely based on those factors or based, atleast in part, on those factors. Consider the phrase “determine A basedon B.” While in this case, B is a factor that affects the determinationof A, such a phrase does not foreclose the determination of A from alsobeing based on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solelyon B.

“Or.” When used in the claims, the term “or” is used as an inclusive orand not as an exclusive or. For example, the phrase “at least one of x,y, or z” means any one of x, y, and z, as well as any combinationthereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing dynamicfocusing in virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) systemsare described. Embodiments of dynamic focusing components and techniquesfor direct retinal projector systems are described that may, forexample, resolve the convergence-accommodation conflict in AR and VRsystems. Embodiments of the dynamic focusing components and techniquesmay be used in a direct retinal projector system to correctly focus eachpixel in VR images as the images are being scanned to a subject's eyes.A VR or AR headset system is described that may include or implement thedynamic focusing components and techniques in a direct retinal projectorsystem.

Accommodation and Convergence in AR/VR Systems

FIG. 1 depicts an example of different types of eye focus. In system 100of FIG. 1, an eye 110A may be adapted to focus at a far distance, asshown by the incident light originating from a distant location andfocusing onto the retina (i.e., the back internal surface) of eye 110Aby the internal lens of eye 110A. In another embodiment, eye 110A mayinstead be adapted for a close focus scenario, as shown by light from anearby location being incident upon the eye and focusing onto theretina.

The human brain typically uses two cues to gauge distance: accommodation(i.e., eye focus) and eye convergence (i.e., the stereoscopicperspective difference between the two eyes). Conventional near-eye VRsystems, such as DLP (digital light processing), LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) and LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology VR systems,typically use separate screens for each respective eye to project theimages intended for the left eye and the right eye, as well as optics toallow a user to focus the eyes at a far distance during viewing of theleft and right eye images. To create a three-dimensional (3D) effect,objects at different depths or distances in the two images are shiftedleft or right as a function of the triangulation of distance, withnearer objects shifted more than more distant objects.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional near-eye VR system 200 that usesseparate screens for each respective eye to project the images intendedfor the eyes. As depicted, right eye 210 and left eye 220 are focused ona focal plane 230 where an image for right eye 240 and an image for lefteye 250, respectively, are displayed. As right eye 210 and left eye 220focus on their respective images at focal plane 230, the brain of theuser combines the images into a resulting 3D image 260. Theaccommodation distance may be defined as the distance between focalplane 230 and an eye of the user (e.g., right eye 210 and/or left eye220), and the convergence distance may be defined as the distancebetween resulting 3D image 260 and an eye of the user.

These conventional near-eye VR systems may produce conflicting visualcues since the resulting 3D image produced by the brain effectivelyappears at a convergence distance that is closer than the accommodationdistance that each eye focuses on separately, thereby leading to thepossibility of headache and/or nausea over time. Further, using theplanar optical design of these conventional systems, the subject's eyeswill in all cases focus on a given plane, or focus at infinity. However,objects in the scene may need to appear at several different distances,while the eyes converge at one distance but focus on a given plane or atinfinity, further contributing to the possibility of headache and/ornausea over time. Heavy users of conventional VR systems may potentiallytrain themselves to compensate for accommodation-convergence mismatch,but a majority of users might not.

Dynamic Focus 3D Display

Conventional VR systems as described above project left and right imagesonto screens that are viewed by a subject. A direct retinal projectorsystem as described herein, however, scans the images, pixel by pixel,directly onto the subject's retinas. This aspect of direct retinalprojector systems allows individual pixels to be optically affecteddynamically as the images are scanned to the subject's retinas. Forexample, embodiments of the dynamic focusing components and techniquesas described herein may be used in a direct retinal projector system todynamically and correctly focus each pixel in the VR images as theimages are being scanned to a subject's eyes. This allows content(objects, surfaces, etc.) that is intended to appear at different depthsin a scene to be projected to the subject's eyes at the correct depths.Thus, the dynamic focusing components and techniques for direct retinalprojector systems may help to reduce or eliminate theconvergence-accommodation conflict in VR systems.

FIG. 3A illustrates depth information for virtual reality (VR) images.In a direct retinal projector system, two images (1900 for the left eyeand 1902 for the right eye) representing a frame in a scene to beprojected to the subject's eyes are generated. To create athree-dimensional (3D) effect, objects or surfaces at different depthsor distances in the two images (represented by A, the nearest object, B,a midrange object, and C, the farthest object) are shifted left or rightas a function of the triangulation of distance, with nearer objects(e.g., A) shifted more than more distant objects (e.g., B and C). Thisshift data may be used to determine relative depth of content (e.g.,objects, surfaces, etc.) in the images. In some embodiments, this shiftdata 1910 may be used to generate depth maps 1920 for the respectiveimages. Values for respective depths of the pixels in the images in thescene may be recorded in the depth maps 1920. In some embodiments, theremay be N (e.g., 8) discrete values for depth, and each pixel in theimages may be assigned a nearest one of the N values in the depth maps1920. In some embodiments, the depth maps 1920 may be pre-generated forthe images. In some embodiments, the depth maps 1920 may be dynamicallygenerated as the images are processed by the direct retinal projectorsystem. As an example, FIG. 3A shows an example depth map that recordsthree depths (1, 2, 3) for pixels of objects A, B, and C, respectively,in image 1902.

FIG. 3B illustrates focusing pixels at different depths in a directretinal projector according to depth information for VR images,according to some embodiments. Since a direct retinal projector scansthe images 1900 and 1902, pixel by pixel, directly onto the subject'sretinas, individual pixels can be optically affected dynamically as theimages are scanned. Focusing components and techniques may thus be usedin a direct retinal projector system to dynamically and correctly focuseach pixel in the images 1900 and 1902 as the images are being scannedto the subject's eyes. This allows content (objects, surfaces, etc.)that is intended to appear at different depths in the scene to beprojected to the subject's eyes at the correct depths.

As shown in the example of FIG. 3B, a light emitting device 2000 of thedirect retinal projector system may include a one- or two-dimensionalarray of light emitting elements 2002. Note that there may be two lightemitting devices 2000 in the direct retinal projector system, with onedevice 2000 for each of the subject's eyes. In some embodiments, theremay be a collimating lens 2040 for each device 2000. The light emittingelements 2002 in each device 2000 may, for example, include edgeemitting lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), orother types of light emitting elements, for example light emittingdiodes (LEDs). The light emitting elements 2002 in each device may begrouped into subsets (referred to as focus groups) 1, 2, and 3, forexample with each group including at least one red light emittingelement, at least one blue light emitting element, and at least onegreen light emitting element, with the light emitting elements 2002 ineach focus group configured to focus their emitted light beams atrespective focus distances f₁, f₂, and f₃ relative to the respectivecollimating lens 2040. Different optical or mechanical techniques may beused to focus the light beams, for example as described in reference toFIGS. 4 through 6. While FIG. 3B shows three focus groups 1, 2, and 3that focus light at respective focus distances f₁, f₂, and f₃ as anexample, a direct retinal projector may support dynamic focusing at Ndiscrete focus distances (e.g., eight distances, although more or fewerfocus distances may be supported), and thus there may be N focus groupsin a direct retinal projector system.

In some embodiments, for each pixel of each image to be projected whenscanning the images 1900 and 1902 to the subject's eyes, a controllercomponent of the direct retinal projector system (see, e.g., FIG. 8) maydetermine or obtain a respective depth for the pixel in the scene, forexample from a depth map 1920 for the respective image. The controllermay then use this depth information to selectively fire a focus group oflight emitting elements 2002 that provide a focus distance fcorresponding to the determined depth for the pixel, e.g., group 1, 2,or 3 in FIG. 3B. The light emitting elements 2002 in the group then emitlight beams (e.g., pulsed light beams) of respective wavelengths (e.g.,red, green, and blue). Optical or mechanical beam focusing components ofthe direct retinal projector system focus the light beams at the focusdistance of the group (e.g. f₁ for group 1, f₂ for group 2, and f₃ forgroup 3). A collimating lens 2040 on the light path of the focused beamsrefracts the beams, for example to a scanning mirror that scans thecollimated beams to a curved mirror that reflects the scanned beams tothe subject's eyes as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 4 illustrates focusing pixels at different depths in a directretinal projector by rotating or tilting a light emitting device,according to some embodiments. A light emitting device 2100 may includea one- or two-dimensional array of light emitting elements 2102, forexample edge emitting lasers. The light emitting elements 2102 may begrouped, for example into groups of red, green, and blue edge emittinglasers. The light emitting device 2100 may be rotated or tilted withrespect to the optical axis of the system and thus may be at an anglewith respect to the plane of the collimating lens 2140 such that theoutput beams of different ones or different groups of the light emittingelements 2102 in the light emitting device 2100 travel differentdistances to reach the collimating lens 2140. The different beam traveldistances 1320 may correspond to respective focus points for variousdepths in images to be scanned to the subject's eyes. FIG. 4 shows ninelight emitting elements (or groups of light emitting elements)2102A-2102I that provide nine focus points f₁-f₉. The direct retinalprojector's controller may dynamically activate and/or modulate variouslight emitting elements 2102 or groups of light emitting elements 2102in the light emitting devices 2100 to dynamically focus pixels atdifferent depths in the images being scanned based on the depthinformation (e.g., depth maps) for the images. The direct retinalprojector may thus dynamically shift between different light emittingelements 2102 or groups of light emitting elements 2102 in order to scanpixels focused at different distances to the subject's eyes. This allowsthe direct retinal projector to project objects and surfaces in scenesto the subject's eyes at the correct depths for the objects and surfacesin the scenes.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate focusing pixels at different depths in adirect retinal projector using a microlens array with the light emittingdevice, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5A, a lightemitting device 2200 may include a one- or two-dimensional array oflight emitting elements 2202, for example vertical cavity surfaceemitting lasers (VCSELs). An array of focusing microlenses 2212(microlens array 2210) may be positioned in front of the VCSELs in lightemitting device 2200 and between the light emitting device 2200 and thecollimating lens 2240. Each microlens 2212 is in front of andcorresponds to one of the VCSELs in the light emitting device 2200 sothat light emitted from a given VCSEL passes through and is refracted byits corresponding microlens 2212. In order for the light emitting device2200 to appear as a point source, at least some of the microlenses 2212in the array may be shifted with respect to a center (optical axis) ofthe system so that the light rays are refracted to a focal point f.

To provide color imaging (e.g., RGB imaging), different ones of thelight emitting elements in device 2200 need to provide red, green, andblue light, with red, green, and blue light emitting elements in eachgroup that are activated differently to provide various colors in thepixels. However, VCSELs may be limited to red wavelengths. Thus, in someembodiments, the system may include frequency conversion elements 2220(e.g., crystals of neodymium trifluoride (NdF3) or other material withsimilar frequency conversion properties) located between the lightemitting device 2200 and the collimation lens 2240 to convert theemitted light in the red frequency into blue and/or green frequenciesfor some of the VCSELs 2202. FIG. 5A shows the frequency conversionelements 2220 located between the microlens array 2210 and the lightemitting device 2200 by way of example; the frequency conversionelements 2220 may be located elsewhere, for example between themicrolens array 2210 and the collimating lens 2200. Note that if greenand blue VCSELs are or become available, the frequency conversionelements 2220 may not be necessary. Also note that an array ofred-emitting VCSELs may be used without frequency conversion elements2220 to provide monochrome virtual images.

As shown in FIG. 5B, to provide dynamic focusing of pixels at differentdepths, different groups of the microlenses 2212 in a microlens array2210 as shown in FIG. 5A may be configured with different focal lengths.As shown in FIG. 5B, the light emitting elements 2102 may be grouped,for example into groups of three or more VCSELs. FIG. 5B shows threegroups A, B, and C as an example. Microlenses 2212 corresponding to thegroups A, B and C may have different physical characteristics (e.g., themicrolenses 2212 may be of different shapes, and/or may be composed ofdifferent optical materials) to provide different optical properties(e.g., focal lengths) for the microlenses 2212 in the different groups.The light beams from the VCSELs 2202 in a given group are thus focusedat a particular focus distance of the group. For example, in the exampleshown in FIG. 5B, microlenses 2212 of group A focus at focus distancef₁, microlenses 2212 of group B focus at focus distance f₂, andmicrolenses 2212 of group C focus at focus distance f₃. The directretinal projector's controller may dynamically activate and/or modulategroup A, B, or C of light emitting elements 2202 in the light emittingdevices 2200 to dynamically focus pixels at different depths in theimages being scanned based on the depth information (e.g., depth maps)for the images. The direct retinal projector may thus dynamically shiftbetween different groups of light emitting elements 2202 andcorresponding microlenses 2212 in order to scan pixels focused atdifferent distances to the subject's eyes. This allows the directretinal projector to project objects and surfaces in scenes to thesubject's eyes at the correct depths for the objects and surfaces in thescenes.

FIG. 6 further illustrates focusing pixels at different depths in adirect retinal projector using a microlens array 2210 with the lightemitting device 2200, according to some embodiments. FIG. 6 shows anexample light emitting device 2200 as a two-dimensional array of VCSELs2202. Individual VCSELs 2202 may be assigned to different focus groups,either according to a pattern or randomly in the array. FIG. 6 showseight focus groups A-H, with corresponding focus distances f₁-f₈. FIG. 6further shows an example microlens array 2210, with the microlenses 2212in the array configured to provide focus distances f₁-f₈. The VCSELs2202 in a given focus group correspond to microlenses 2212 in the array2210 at a given focus distance. For example, the VCSELs 2202 in focusgroup A correspond to the microlenses 2212 with focus distance f₁, andthe VCSELs 2202 in focus group D correspond to the microlenses 2212 withfocus distance f₄. Note that the microlenses 2212 in the array 2210 maybe shifted with respect to the center/optical axis so that the lightbeams emitted by the VCSELs 2202 in a group and refracted by therespective microlenses 2212 appear as a point source at the collimatinglens.

To focus a given pixel in an image at a depth indicated by the image'sdepth information (e.g., depth map), a controller of the direct retinalprojector selectively activates the focus group of VCSELs 2202corresponding to that depth. The activated VCSELs 2202 emit light beamsthat pass through and are shifted by the corresponding microlenses 2212and focused at the respective focal distance. For example, FIG. 6 showsthe VCSELs 2202 in focus group D activated to emit light beams throughcorresponding microlenses 2212 that shift and focus the light beams atfocus distance f₄. While not shown in FIG. 6, in some embodiments someof the light beams emitted by the VCSELs 2202 in a focus group may passthrough frequency conversion elements to provide blue and/or green lightfrequencies for the respective pixels as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 7 is a high-level flowchart of a method for dynamically focusingpixels at different depths in a direct retinal projector, according tosome embodiments. The method of FIG. 7 may apply to the components of adirect retinal projector system as illustrated in FIGS. 3A through 6, aswell as to an example direct retinal projector system as illustrated inFIGS. 8 through 17 and the section titled Example virtual realitydevice.

As indicated at 3000, a frame containing a 3D scene to be scanned to asubject's eyes may be obtained, for example by a controller component ofthe direct retinal projector system. The frame may include two images,i.e. a left and right image as illustrated in FIG. 3A, with content inthe images shifted to provide a 3D effect when projected to thesubject's eyes. Objects at different depths are shifted differentdistances, with nearer objects shifted more than more distant objects.As illustrated in FIG. 3A, depth map(s) for the images that indicatedepth at the pixels within the images may also be obtained, oralternatively may be dynamically generated by the controller componentfrom shift data obtained from the two images. In some embodiments, forexample, the controller component may generate depth maps for a nextframe while scanning a current frame.

Elements 3010 through 3040 of FIG. 7 may be performed in parallel andsynchronously for the two images by two sets of components in the directretinal projector system under control of a controller component so thatcorresponding pixels in the two images are scanned to the subject'srespective eyes substantially at the same time.

As indicated at 3010, a next pixel to be scanned may be obtained by thecontroller component. As indicated at 3020, the controller component maydetermine a depth at the current pixel, for example by reading acorresponding location in a respective depth map. As indicated at 3030,the controller component determines a group of light emitting elementsthat focus at a distance corresponding to the determined depth for thecurrent pixel, and selectively activates the light emitting elements inthe determined focus group according to the color (e.g., RGB),intensity/brightness, and other information for the current pixel. Asindicated at 3040, the light beams emitted by the activated lightemitting elements in the focus group are focused by respective focusingelements at the distance that corresponds to the determined depth forthe current pixel. For example, the light beams may pass through and befocused by microlenses in a microlens array that correspond to the lightemitting elements in the focus group as illustrated in FIGS. 5B and 6.While not shown, if the light emitting elements are VCSELs, at leastsome of the light beams may be converted from the red frequency to blueand green frequencies using frequency conversion elements such as NdF3crystals.

At 3050, if there are more pixels in the frame to be scanned, then themethod returns to element 3010 to scan the next pixel. Otherwise, at3060, if there are more frames to be projected, then the method returnsto element 3000 to project the next frame. Otherwise, the method isdone.

FIGS. 8 through 17 and the section titled Example virtual reality devicedescribe embodiments of a virtual reality device (e.g., headset) thatprovide direct retinal projection and that may implement or incorporateembodiments of the dynamic focusing components and techniques for directretinal projector systems as illustrated in FIG. 3A through 7, andvarious other methods and apparatus for direct retinal projector systemsas described herein. However, note that embodiments of the dynamicfocusing components and techniques as described herein may beimplemented in various other direct retinal projector systems, in otherAR or VR technology systems, or in other types of scanning projectionsystems.

Direct Retinal Projector System

In embodiments of a direct retinal projector system for AR and/or VRapplications as described herein, a light beam is generated by ascanning projector, reflected off a curved mirror (e.g., a curvedellipsoid mirror) in front of the subject's eye and through thesubject's pupil, and forms an image on the subject's retina—there is nointermediate image on a screen or surface that the subject views. Insome embodiments, with relatively small diameter laser beams, theeffective depth of focus of the eye can be greatly increased. The directretinal projector system may at least partially eliminate eye lensaccommodation from the retinal projection focus to help eliminate theaccommodation convergence mismatch. In some embodiments, the directretinal projector system may help compensate for user eye lens problems,such as short- or long-sightedness.

Example Direct Retinal Projection Virtual Reality Devices

Embodiments of a virtual reality device (e.g. headset) are describedthat provide direct retinal projection and that may implement orincorporate embodiments of the scan tracking system, adjustable focuselement, and other methods and apparatus for direct retinal projectorsystems as described above. In some embodiments, the direct retinalprojection technology may include a light emitting device that mayinclude one or more light emitting elements (e.g., lasers, LEDs, etc.)configured to generate one or more collimated light beams. A processorconnected to the light emitting device may be configured to selectivelyactivate one or more groups of the light emitting elements. A scanningmirror may include one or more microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)mirrors. Each MEMS mirror of the scanning mirror may be configured todynamically tilt in at least one of two orthogonal degrees of freedom inresponse to instructions received from the processor. Each MEMS mirrormay also be configured to raster scan the light beams over multipleangles corresponding to a field of view of an image. A curved mirror mayinclude curves in two orthogonal directions configured to reflect thecollimated light beams from the scanning mirror into a subject's eye inproximity to the curved mirror.

In some embodiments, a VR/AR system may include light emitting devicesthat each include one or more light emitting elements, for examplelasers (e.g., vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs)), andrespective focusing and/or collimation optical elements (e.g., lenses).While embodiments are generally described as using lasers such asVCSELs, other types of light emitting elements, for example lightemitting diodes (LEDs), may be used in some embodiments. The lightemitting elements may be grouped into laser modules, for example witheach group or module including at least one red light emitting element,at least one blue light emitting element, and at least one green lightemitting element. In some embodiments, diameter of each of thecollimated light beams may less than sixty (60) micrometers. In someembodiments, the curved mirror may be an ellipsoid mirror. In someembodiments, the curved mirror may include a partially-reflective layerconfigured to transmit at least a portion of external light through thecurved mirror to the eye, where the external light is incident on anopposite surface of the curved mirror relative to the collimated lightbeams incident on the internal surface of the curved mirror. In someembodiments, the system may include one or more gaze tracking modulesconfigured to monitor the orientation of one or more eyes and transmitthe eye orientation data to the processor, where the processor isconfigured to dynamically select one or more active portions of thelight emitting device and the scanning mirror based at least on the eyeorientation data and a respective field of view corresponding to the oneor more active portions of the light emitting device and the scanningmirror. In addition to compensating for the subject's eye orientation(e.g., where the subject is looking), the gaze tracking technology maycompensate for differences in spacing between different subject's eyes.

In some embodiments, a method for a VR/AR device may include generating,by a light emitting device that may include one or more light emittingelements (e.g., laser modules), one or more collimated light beams. Themethod may also include selectively activating, by a processor connectedto the light emitting device, one or more groups of the light emittingelements. In some embodiments, the method may include dynamicallytilting, by the processor, each of one or more microelectromechanicalsystems (MEMS) mirrors of a scanning mirror in at least one of twoorthogonal degrees of freedom. Additionally, the method may includeraster scanning, by the scanning mirror, the collimated light beams overmultiple angles corresponding to a field of view of an image.Furthermore, the method may include reflecting, by a curved (e.g.,ellipsoid) mirror that may include curves in two orthogonal directions,the collimated light beams from the scanning mirror into a subject's eyein proximity to the curved mirror. In some embodiments, the method mayinclude generating, by the collimated light beams, a virtual realityview that may include the image. In some embodiments, the rasterscanning may include generating, by the collimated light beams and overa second set of multiple angles, a second field of view in response to adetermination, by the processor and based on the eye orientation data,that the eye has moved to a second orientation. In some embodiments, themethod may include generating, by the collimated light beams, anaugmented reality view that may include virtual images generated by thecollimated light beams combined with a real-world view provided byexternal light that passes through the curved mirror.

In some embodiments, a VR/AR device may include a frame configured to beworn on the head of a user (also referred to as a subject). In someembodiments, the device may include first and second light emittingdevices connected to the frame, where the first and second lightemitting devices may include respective first and second sets of lightemitting elements configured to generate respective first and secondsets of collimated light beams. A processor connected to the first andsecond light emitting devices may be configured to selectively activateone or more groups of the respective ones of the first and second setsof light emitting elements. First and second scanning mirrors connectedto the frame may include respective sets of one or moremicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors. Each MEMS mirror of thefirst and second scanning mirrors may be configured to dynamically tiltin at least one of two orthogonal degrees of freedom in response toinstructions received from the processor. Each MEMS mirror of the firstand second scanning mirrors may also be configured to raster scan thelight beams over multiple angles corresponding to a field of view of animage. First and second curved (e.g., ellipsoid) mirrors connected tothe frame may each include curves in two orthogonal directions. Thefirst curved mirror may be configured to reflect the first set ofcollimated light beams from the first scanning mirror into a first eyein proximity to the first curved mirror. The second curved mirror may beconfigured to reflect the second set of collimated light beams from thesecond scanning mirror into a second eye in proximity to the secondcurved mirror.

Direct Retinal Projection Virtual Reality Headset Details

Embodiments of a virtual reality device (e.g., headset) may implementdirect retinal projection as described herein to, for example, solveproblems with respect to accommodation-convergence mismatches whengenerating VR and/or AR image(s) by scanning narrow collimated beams oflight directly to the retinas of a subject's eyes. In variousembodiments, the narrow collimated beams of light may be produced byscanning one or more light sources (e.g., red, green, blue (RGB) lasers)into the subject's eye(s), thereby producing a light field correspondingto the VR and/or AR image(s). In some embodiments, a small beam diameter(e.g., a beam diameter smaller than the pupil of the subject's eye) mayenable the system to produce a larger depth of focus and reduce theimpact of eye accommodation. For example, the use of parallel beamshaving small beam diameters may reduce accommodation-convergencemismatch and thus help correct eye problems. In some embodiments, thefocus of one or more light beams may be adjusted through a slow axisscan, thereby maintaining beam collimation and/or divergence.

In some embodiments, a VR and/or AR headset system may reduce and/oreliminate accommodation-convergence mismatch problems by scanning narrowcollimated beams of light to generate a light field at the subject'seyes. In some embodiments, an F-number calculation for such a system maybe described as follows. If a human eye has a focal length of 17 mm atinfinity and a focal length of 15.7 mm at a 200 mm focus, then ahyperfocal distance (h) may be approximately equal to 1500 mm. This mayensure an optimal focus over the depth of field of 750 mm to infinity.Assuming a visual acuity of approximately 1 arc minute, this correspondsto a notional “pixel” size of 5 micrometers (μm) (i.e., p), and thus theF-number would be defined by the equation: F-number=f{circumflex over( )}2/(h*p)=38.5, which would result in a required aperture of 440micrometers (μall). Therefore, a beam diameter of 440 μm entering asubject's eye may provide visual acuity for object distances from 750 mmto infinity, regardless of how the internal lens of the subject's eye isaccommodated. The angle of a light beam entering the subject's eye is animportant factor in determining the placement of the light with respectto the image seen by the subject's eye, while the position of the lightbeam with respect to the pupil itself may not be an important factor.Such a system could thus be configured to provide VR and/or AR images tothe eyes of the subject while maintaining the subject's comfort. Anadditional benefit of such a system is that the system may beconfigurable to adapt to and correct a subject's existing eye problems(e.g., long-sightedness, short-sightedness, or a general reduced abilityfor accommodation), while still allowing sharp, high-resolution imagesto be received on the subject's retina.

In some embodiments, a laser module (e.g., a laser module suitable foruse in a projector system) may be utilized in a VR/AR device (e.g.,headset system). In some embodiments, a laser module may include threeseparate lasers with different colors, such as red, green, and blue.While embodiments are generally described as using lasers (e.g.,VCSELs), other types of light emitting elements, for example lightemitting diodes (LEDs), may be used in some embodiments. Beam splittersand reflectors may also be used to superpose the beams emitted by thelasers to a single RGB beam, which may then be scanned using a scanningmirror. In some embodiments, the scanning mirror may be atwo-dimensional (2D) microelectromechanical (MEMS) mirror. In someembodiments, the scanning mirror may be a three-dimensional (3D) MEMSmirror. In some embodiments, a single laser module and a singleadjustable scanning mirror may be used (with one set for each eye). Insome embodiments, an array of MEMS mirrors may be used to raster scanmultiple light beams from an array of laser modules (with two sets oflaser/mirror arrays, one for each eye). In some embodiments, thescanning mirror may be placed at or close to one of the foci of a curvedmirror, such as an ellipsoid mirror, and the pupil of the subject's eyemay be positioned at or close to the other focus of the curved mirror.In such a system, the scanning mirror may be scanned to direct lightfrom the laser modules into the subject's eye and thereby generate alight field corresponding to one or more VR images or AR images. In someembodiments, during a raster scan each laser may be appropriatelymodulated based at least in part on the desired intensity and color ofeach location in the projected image.

In some embodiments, a VR headset may continue to focus a light fieldinto the eye of a subject across multiple potential pupil positions. Ifthe subject's pupil moves with respect to the azimuth (i.e., horizontalangle), the subject's pupil may no longer be at a focus of the ellipsoidmirror, and the rays corresponding to the light field may no longerfocus to a point. However, so long as the beams converge sufficiently toenter the subject's pupil, the collimated light beams may be correctlyfocused onto the retina of the subject's eye. As stated above, parallelbeams of light entering the subject's pupil land on the retina at thesame place, and consequently the position, to the first order, of thebeam within the subject's pupil may not be relevant to the focus of thecollimated light beams on the subject's retina.

In some embodiments, a laser aperture of approximately 2 millimeters(mm) to 3 mm may be utilized. At the diffraction limit, such a laser maybe capable of an angular resolution at the subject's eye ofapproximately 3 arc minutes for a 2 mm aperture and 2 arc minutes for a3 mm aperture. For reference, 20/20 vision roughly corresponds to 1 arcminute. Such a laser may also be capable of a hyperfocal distance of 1meter (m) for a 2 mm aperture and 2.5 m for a 3 mm aperture. Therefore,for a 2 mm aperture, the image at the subject's eye may be in focus onthe subject's retina if accommodated from 0.5 m to infinity. Similarly,for a 3 mm aperture, the image at the subject's eye may be in focus onthe subject's retina if accommodated from 1.3 m to infinity.

In some embodiments, diffraction limit calculations may be based on thefar-field estimate of the beam parameter product (BPP). BPP correspondsto (Δx)*Δα/4≥λ/π, where Δx is the beam width; Δα is the beam divergenceangle; λ, is the light wavelength; and λ/π is the diffraction limit(0.175 mm mrad for 550 nm light). The Fresnel number (N)=(Δx){circumflexover ( )}2/(λ*L) indicates whether the beam is in the near field or farfield, where L is the distance from the aperture to the point ofinterest. In some embodiments, L may be approximately 127 mm, althoughthis is just an example and should not be considered to be limiting. Asexample values of N, for a 2 mm aperture N may be approximately 14, andfor a 3 mm aperture N may be approximately 32. Values of N<0.2 maycorrespond to a far-field where the beam may be assumed to be Gaussian.If N>100, diffraction effects may be ignored.

In the above discussion of the range of N, the Fresnel diffractionregion and the near field are assumed. Thus, the diffraction limitequations used in the discussion are not correct, as beam divergence(Δα) is not defined for the near field. In practice, however, the beamperformance may be better than predicted by the far field numbers.

The techniques described herein for a VR/AR device may be furtherillustrated in terms of an example VR/AR headset system that employsthem. As noted above, these techniques may be implemented in any type ofdisplay device, apparatus, optical projection system, or computingsystem that includes the capability to process and display image and/orvideo data.

One example of a system that is configured to implement any or all ofthe techniques described herein is illustrated in FIG. 8. For example,system 400 illustrated in FIG. 8 may be configured as a virtual realityheadset, according to some embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment,system 400 includes light emitting devices 405A-B coupled to controller425, scanning mirrors (e.g., MEMS mirror arrays) 410A-B coupled tocontroller 425, one or more gaze tracking module(s) 445A-B coupled tocontroller 425, a memory 430, a power supply 440, and one or moreinput/output (I/O) device(s) 450. As depicted, system 400 also includesa left curved mirror 415A and a right curved mirror 415B, which areconfigured to reflect collimated light beams 407A into a subject's lefteye 420A and to reflect collimated light beams 407B into a subject'sright eye 420B, respectively.

In this example, light emitting devices 405A-B may include any type oflight emitting elements suitable for emitting light beams, such as edgeemitting lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), lightemitting diodes (LEDs), or other devices. In some embodiments, lightemitting devices 405A-B may be configured to generate and/or modulatecollimated light beams 407A and 407B, respectively. In some embodiments,light emitting devices 405A-B may be configured to dynamically focuseach pixel in VR images as the images are being scanned to a subject'seyes, thus allowing content. that are intended to appear at differentdepths in a scene to be projected to the subject's eyes at the correctdepths. In some embodiments, light emitting devices 405A-B may bepositioned (e.g., on a frame holding the various elements of system400), such that light emitting devices 405A-B are oriented to emitcollimated light beams at least in the direction(s) of scanning mirrors410A and 410B, respectively. Various examples of light emitting devicesare illustrated in FIGS. 3A-7, 9, 12, 13, and 15. An example of a framefor system 400 is illustrated in FIG. 14, which is discussed in detailbelow.

In some embodiments, scanning mirrors (e.g., MEMS mirror arrays) 410A-Bmay be positioned and/or oriented (e.g., on a frame holding the elementsof system 400) such that scanning mirrors 410A-B are located at or closeto focal points of curved mirrors 415A and 415B, respectively. In someembodiments, controller 425 may selectively control and/or adjust thepositions of one or more movable mirror elements in each of scanningmirrors 410A-B in order to generate a raster scan of collimated lightbeams 407A-B, respectively, into a light field that may be reflectedfrom curved mirrors 415A-B, respectively, and into the subject's eyes420A-B, respectively. In some embodiments, the subject's eyes 420A-B maybe positioned at or near to focal points of curved mirrors 415A-B,respectively. Various examples of scanning mirrors 410A-B and curvedmirrors 415A-B are illustrated in FIGS. 9, 10A-10C, 11, 14 15, 16A, and16B, which are discussed in detail below.

In some embodiments, a light emitting device 405 may include a singlelaser group or module that includes a red, a green, and a blue laser,and a scanning mirror 410 may include a single MEMS mirror that is usedto raster scan a collimated light beam from the light emitting device405 to generate an image at the subject's respective eye 420. In someembodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a light emitting device 405 mayinclude an array of two or more laser groups or modules, and a scanningmirror 410 may include an array of two or more MEMS mirrors that areused to raster scan multiple collimated light beams from the array oflaser modules to generate images at the subject's respective eye 420.

While using the system 400, a subject may move their eyes. In addition,different subject's eyes may be differently spaced. In some embodiments,to avoid distortion in a projected image due to eye orientation and/orspacing, gaze tracking technology may be used to dynamically adjust thevirtual image projected by the system 400 according to the subject'scurrent eye orientation and the spacing between the subject's eyes. Gazetracking module(s) 445A-B may monitor the orientation of the subject'seyes 420A-B and transmit the eye orientation data to the controller 425.The controller 425 may dynamically select one or more active portions ofthe light emitting device 405 (e.g., one or more laser groups) and ofthe scanning mirror (e.g., one or more MEMS mirrors) according to theeye orientation data and a respective field of view corresponding to theone or more active portions of the light emitting device and thescanning mirror. In addition to compensating for the subject's eyeorientation (e.g., where the subject is looking), the gaze trackingtechnology may compensate for differences in spacing between differentsubject's eyes.

In different embodiments, system 400 may include any of various types ofdevices including, but not limited to: a personal computer system; alaptop computer; a notebook, tablet, slate, or netbook computer; ahandheld computer; a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, tabletdevice, or music player; a video game console; a handheld video gamedevice; or in general any type of computing or electronic device thatincludes the functionality of generating images for a virtual realityand/or augmented reality system. In some embodiments, system 400 orcontroller 425 may include more or fewer elements than those shown inFIG. 8.

In various embodiments, controller 425 may be a uniprocessor systemincluding one processor, or a multiprocessor system including severalprocessors (e.g., two, four, eight, or another suitable number).Controller 425 may include central processing units (CPUs) configured toimplement any suitable instruction set architecture, and may beconfigured to execute instructions defined in that instruction setarchitecture. For example, in various embodiments controller 425 mayinclude general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of avariety of instruction set architectures (ISAs), such as the x86,PowerPC, SPARC, RISC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. Inmultiprocessor systems, each of the processors may commonly, but notnecessarily, implement the same ISA. Controller 425 may employ anymicroarchitecture, including scalar, superscalar, pipelined,superpipelined, out of order, in order, speculative, non-speculative,etc., or combinations thereof. Controller 425 may include circuitry toimplement microcoding techniques. Controller 425 may include one or moreprocessing cores each configured to execute instructions. Controller 425may include one or more levels of caches, which may employ any size andany configuration (set associative, direct mapped, etc.).

In the example system 400 illustrated in FIG. 8, memory 430 may be anytype of memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronousDRAM (SDRAM), double data rate (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.) SDRAM (includingmobile versions of the SDRAMs such as mDDR3, etc., or low power versionsof the SDRAMs such as LPDDR2, etc.), RAMBUS DRAM (RDRAM), static RAM(SRAM), etc. One or more memory devices may be coupled onto a circuitboard to form memory modules such as single inline memory modules(SIMMs), dual inline memory modules (DIMMs), etc. Alternatively, thedevices may be mounted with an integrated circuit implementing system400 in a chip-on-chip configuration, a package-on-package configuration,or a multi-chip module configuration. In some embodiments, system memory430 may store pixel data or other image data or statistics in variousformats. Similarly, while the example system 400 illustrated in FIG. 8includes persistent storage for non-volatile storage of image data orother data used in the system, in other embodiments, the system mayinclude other types of non-volatile memory (e.g. read-only memory (ROM))for those purposes. In some embodiments, memory 430 may include data,such as a program instructions 435 and/or one or more representativemaps used by an image signal processor to identify, process, and therebygenerate collimated light beams configured to produce a light fieldcorresponding to VR and/or AR image data. One embodiment of animplementation of program instructions 435 is illustrated in more detailin FIG. 17 and described below.

Controller 425 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU), which mayinclude any suitable graphics processing circuitry. Generally, a GPU maybe configured to render objects to be displayed into a frame buffer(e.g., one that includes pixel data for an entire frame). A GPU mayinclude one or more graphics processors that may execute graphicssoftware to perform a part or all of the graphics operation, or hardwareacceleration of certain graphics operations. The amount of hardware andsoftware implementation may vary from embodiment to embodiment.

I/O devices 450 may include any desired circuitry, depending on the typeof system 400. For example, in some embodiments, system 400 may beconfigured to interface with a mobile computing device (e.g. personaldigital assistant (PDA), tablet device, smart phone, etc.), and the I/Odevices 450 may include devices for various types of wirelesscommunication, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, global positioningsystem, etc. In some embodiments, I/O devices 450 may also includeadditional storage, including RAM storage, solid state storage, or diskstorage. In some embodiments, I/O devices 450 may include user interfacedevices such as additional display devices, including touch displayscreens or multi-touch display screens, power buttons, input buttons,control keys, keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanning devices, voice oroptical recognition devices, microphones, speakers, scanners, printingdevices, or any other devices suitable for entering or accessing data byor within system 400.

In some embodiments, controller 425 may include an image signalprocessor (ISP), which may include dedicated hardware that mayfacilitate the performance of various stages of an image processingpipeline. In some embodiments, controller 425 and/or an ISP may beconfigured to receive image data from an external source and/or from oneor more data files stored in memory 430 and to process the data into aform that is usable by other components of system 400 (including lightemitting devices 405A-B, scanning mirrors 410A-B, gaze tracking modules445A-B, program instructions 435, and/or I/O devices 450). In someembodiments, controller 425 and/or an ISP may be configured to performvarious image procession and manipulation operations including one ormore of, but not limited to, image translation operations, horizontaland vertical scaling, non-uniformity correction, filtering,non-uniformity reduction, color space conversion or other non-warpingimage editing operations, or image stabilization transformations.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that system 400 is merelyillustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of embodiments. Forexample, system 400 may also be connected to other devices that are notillustrated, or instead may operate as a stand-alone system. Inaddition, the functionality provided by the illustrated components mayin some embodiments be combined in fewer components or distributed inadditional components. Similarly, in some embodiments, the functionalityof some of the illustrated components may not be provided or otheradditional functionality may be available. In some embodiments programinstructions 435 stored in memory 430 may be executed by controller 425to provide various functions of system 400.

In some embodiments, various functions may be performed by softwarecomponents executing in memory on another device and communicating withthe illustrated system via inter-computer communication. Some or all ofthese software components or any data structures described herein may bestored (e.g., as instructions or structured data) in system memory 430,in persistent storage, or may be stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or a portable article to be read by anappropriate drive connected to I/O device(s) 450. In some embodiments,instructions stored on a computer-accessible medium separate from system400 may be transmitted to system 400 via transmission media or signalssuch as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via acommunication medium such as a network or a wireless link. Variousembodiments may further include receiving, sending or storinginstructions or data implemented in accordance with the descriptionsherein. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include anon-transitory, computer-readable storage medium or memory medium suchas magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile ornon-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.),ROM, etc.

FIG. 9 is an example of a raster scan using an array of MEMS mirrors,according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, a light emittingdevice 405A may be configured to, under direction of controller 425,emit light beams for pixels being scanned that are dynamically focusedat different focus distances according to depth information for theimages being scanned, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-7. In someembodiments, MEMS mirrors 510A-N may be configured to tilt according tocommands received from controller 425, thereby selectively reflectingcollimated light beams received from collimating lens 520 acrossmultiple scan angles 515A-N directed towards curved mirror 415A andultimately into the subject's eye 420A. In some embodiments, each MEMSmirror 510 may be configured to tilt in at least two directions, and thetwo directions may be orthogonal (e.g., an x-axis and a y-axis).Examples of MEMS mirror 510 tilt configurations are depicted in FIGS.16A and 16B, which are described in detail below.

FIG. 10A illustrates a side view and an inner surface view of a curvedellipsoid mirror 415, according to some embodiments. The curvedellipsoid mirror 415 reflects and focuses the light field from thescanning mirror into the subject's eye pupil, thus simplifying theoptics and reducing the scanning degrees of freedom required whencompared to conventional systems. In some embodiments, the curvedellipsoid mirror 415 may be “see through”, i.e. allowing at least somelight from the subject's environment to pass through, thus enabling amuch more natural augmented reality (AR) experience. For example, ARcontent projected by the direct retinal projector system may be“overlaid” on or viewed in the environmental scene that the subject isviewing.

FIG. 10B illustrates light (field rays) from a curved ellipsoid mirror415 striking the subject's pupil at different positions, according tosome embodiments. In some embodiments, the curved ellipsoid mirror onlyfocuses the light field to a point at one pupil position. At otherpositions, it focuses to a region. As long as the light enters thepupil, it does not matter where it enters. In some embodiments, thecurved ellipsoid mirror 415 may be modified from the mathematicalellipsoid shape so as to even up the focus region sizes for differentpupil positions.

FIG. 10C illustrates elevation and azimuth scans to a curved ellipsoidmirror 415, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, thesystem 400 may be configured to scan pixels from a source VR or AR imageor frame to the curved ellipsoid mirror 415 in a pattern in which thepixels are scanned on the elevation (fast) axis (each elevation scancorresponding to a column of the source image), with the elevation scansproceeding across the curved ellipsoid mirror 415 across the azimuth(referred to as the azimuth, or slow, scan). Note that the directions ofthe arrows in FIG. 10C are given by way of example, and are not intendedto be limiting. VR or AR images or frames may be scanned at a framerate, e.g. 60 or 90 Hz.

FIG. 11 is an example of multiple fields of view, according to someembodiments. In some embodiments, system 600 may generate collimatedlight beams 610 that may be raster scanned by a scanning mirror (e.g., aMEMS mirror array as illustrated in FIG. 9) to produce a field of view(FOV), such as FOV 605K of system 600. By selectively modulating one ormore light emitting elements (e.g., one or more groupings of RGB lasers)of a respective light emitting device 405, and/or by selectively tiltingone or more adjustable mirror elements (e.g., MEMS mirrors) of arespective scanning mirror 410, controller 425 may effectively rasterscan collimated light beams 610 across a given FOV, and the FOV may bereflected by curved mirror 415A into a respective eye 420A of thesubject. Different MEMS mirror positions in scanning mirrors 410A-Band/or the selective activation of different groups of lasers of thelight emitting devices 405A-B may thus accommodate different eye swivelangles as detected by a gaze tracking module 445.

FIG. 12 depicts an example configuration of a light emitting device,according to some embodiments. As illustrated, system 700 may includelight emitting device 405A of FIG. 8. In some embodiments, lightemitting device 405A may include multiple VCSEL groups, such as VCSELgroup 720A. In some embodiments, each VCSEL group may include multiplecolors of lasers (e.g., RGB) usable to generate light corresponding to apixel pattern of an image. As shown, VCSEL group 720A includes an RGBcolor pattern having a red VCSEL 705A, a green VSCEL 710A, and a blueVCSEL 715A. In various embodiments, light emitting device 405A mayinclude multiple respective VCSEL groups each configured to representdifferent pixels of an image and/or different fields of view of a lightfield. While embodiments are generally described as using VCSELs, othertypes of light emitting elements, for example light emitting diodes(LEDs), may be used in some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a light emitting device withmicrolenses, according to some embodiments. As shown, system 800 mayinclude a light emitting device, such as light emitting device 405A ofFIG. 8, that includes one or more groups of VCSELs, with an array ofmicrolenses 805A-N positioned at or near the output of the VCSELs. Invarious embodiments, one or more focusing lenses may correspond to oneor more respective VCSELs.

FIG. 14 depicts an example of a system 900 including a frame 905,according to some embodiments. As illustrated, frame 905 may beconfigured to hold various elements of a VR/AR device, such as theelements of system 400 of FIG. 8. In various embodiments, frame 905 maybe a glasses frame, a goggles frame, a helmet, or the like, configuredto be worn on or over a subject 990's head so as to position the curvedmirrors 415A and 415B in front of the subject 990's left and right eyes,respectively.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a system 1000 configured for augmentedreality (AR), according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, acurved mirror, such as curved mirror 415A of FIG. 8, may include apartially reflective layer 1005 configured to allow a portion ofexternal light 1010 from an external scene 1015 to pass from an oppositesurface of curved mirror 415A through curved mirror 415A and reach thesubject's eye 420A, while simultaneously reflecting collimated lightbeam 505 from an internal surface of curved mirror 415A towards thesubject's eye 420A. In various embodiments, partially reflective layer1005 may be a partially-silvered mirror, or the like. Augmented realitysystem 1000 thus enables the subject to see elements of both an externalscene 1015 and the images corresponding to collimated light beam 505(i.e., the field of view generated by light emitting device 405A andscanning mirror 410A raster scanning collimated light beam 505 acrossthe inside surface of curved mirror 415A). In some embodiments, thelight emitting device 405A may be configured to, under direction ofcontroller 425, emit light beams for pixels being scanned that aredynamically focused at different focus distances according to depthinformation for the images being scanned, for example as illustrated inFIGS. 3A-7.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate embodiments of dynamically adjustable MEMSmirrors, according to some embodiments. As depicted in FIG. 16A, MEMSmirror 1205 may be configured to rotate a reflective surface across anx-axis based on an electrical current applied to MEMS mirror 1205 thatchanges the magnetic field(s) of a piezoelectric material applied to theflexing surfaces of the MEMS mirror 1205 in relation to a substrate ofthe MEMS mirror 1205, thereby causing the flexing surfaces to bend whichresults in rotating a reflective surface of the MEMS mirror 1205 inrelation to the x-axis. Similarly, FIG. 16B depicts a reflective surfaceof MEMS mirror 1205 rotating across a y-axis in response to anelectrical current that differently alters the magnetic field(s) of thepiezoelectric material applied to the flexing surfaces of the MEMSmirror 1205, thereby causing the flexing surfaces to differently bendwhich results in rotating a reflective surface of the MEMS mirror 1205in relation to the y-axis. In some embodiments, a scanning mirror mayinclude multiple such MEMS mirrors 1205 configured to dynamically rotatein two orthogonal directions in response to commands from a processor.

FIGS. 9-16 provide an example of a direct retinal projector VR/AR devicewhich may generate virtual reality or augmented reality images. However,numerous other types or configurations of systems or components may beincluded in a direct retinal projector VR/AR device. Further, thevarious components of a direct retinal projector system as illustratedin FIGS. 3-16 may be included in other types of VR/AR devices than thosedepicted, or in other types of devices or systems.

FIG. 17 is a high-level flowchart illustrating a method of operation fora VR/AR device, according to some embodiments. The method of FIG. 17may, for example, be implemented by embodiments of a VR/AR device asillustrated in FIGS. 3-16. In some embodiments, a VR/AR device mayfurther include technology, such as one or more image signal processorsand/or image processing pipelines, that may apply one or more imageprocessing techniques to virtual reality or augmented reality images.

As indicated at 1110 of FIG. 17, a light emitting device including oneor more light emitting elements generates one or more collimated lightbeams. In some embodiments, the light emitting elements may be verticalcavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with respective focusing and/orcollimation elements (e.g., dynamically adjustable focusing lenses). Insome embodiments, the VCSELs may be organized in groups, with each groupincluding a red VCSEL, a blue VCSEL, and a green VCSEL. As indicated at1120, a processor connected to the light emitting device selectivelyactivates one or more groups of the light emitting elements. Asindicated at 1130, the processor dynamically tilts each of one or moreMEMS mirrors of a scanning mirror in at least one of two orthogonaldegrees of freedom. As indicated at 1140, the scanning mirror rasterscans the multiple collimated light beams over multiple anglescorresponding to a field of view of an image. As indicated at 1150, amirror (e.g., an ellipsoid mirror) curved in two orthogonal directionsreflects the collimated light beams from the scanning mirror into asubject's eye in proximity to the curved mirror. The collimated lightbeams reflected by the curved mirror may provide a virtual reality viewto the subject.

A virtual reality device as described herein may thus scanhigh-resolution virtual reality images to a subject's retinas, and mayreduce, minimize, or eliminate the effects of accommodation-convergencemismatch. Some embodiments of a virtual reality device as describedherein may also provide augmented reality by using partially reflectivecurved mirrors that reflect virtual images to the subject's eyes, whileallowing a portion of external light to pass through the curved mirrorsto the subject's eyes.

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. An apparatus, comprising: a projector configuredto scan a frame of a scene to a subject's eye, wherein the projectorcomprises a focusing mechanism; and a controller configured to:determine depth at each pixel in the scene; and cause the focusingmechanism to focus each pixel at a focus distance that corresponds tothe determined depth at the pixel as the frame is being scanned by theprojector; wherein focusing each pixel at a focus distance thatcorresponds to the determined depth at the pixel as the frame is beingscanned by the projector causes objects in the scene that are intendedto appear at different depths to be projected to the subject's eyes atcorrect depths.